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2018 Midterm Election Results

The 2018 midterm elections, which featured hundreds of congressional, state and local primaries, culminated with the Nov. 6 general election. Democrats gained control of the House while Republicans kept power in the Senate.

Upcoming Elections

Nov. 27

Elections near you

Mississippi special Senate runoff election

Voters will decide the outcome of the special Senate race, which forced a runoff election when no candidate won a majority of the vote on Nov. 6.

Texas Democrats surged to the polls, demonstrating a wave of Trump-inspired energy, but also revealing internal divisions at the outset of a midterm campaign that looks otherwise promising to the party. Read more about the primaries.

Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican first-term incumbent, and J.B. Pritzker, a Democratic billionaire heir and businessman, emerged from the gubernatorial primaries, while the incumbent in a closely watched Democratic congressional primary overcame a progressive challenge. The governor’s race promises to be be fiercely fought and dominated by big money, with each candidate controlling tremendous sums of personal wealth.

Debbie Lesko, a Republican former state senator, fended off an unusually strong Democratic challenge to win a special election in the Eighth District, near Phoenix. Her victory demonstrated the resilience of the Republican base, but also showed how eager liberals are to compete even in reliably conservative districts. Read more.

Mark Harris, a Baptist minister who opposes same-sex marriage, defeated Representative Robert Pittenger in a Republican primary, making Mr. Pittenger the first incumbent from either party to lose a seat in Congress because of a primary challenger this year.

The race to succeed Gov. John Kasich will be a bruising national fight because the nominees — Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican, and Richard Cordray, a consumer advocate and Democrat — are ideological opposites.

Kara Eastman, a liberal Democrat, narrowly won the primary to challenge Representative Don Bacon, a Republican, in what is expected to be a competitive race in November. The Democratic primary focused heavily on abortion, with Ms. Eastman supporting abortion rights and her opponent, Brad Ashford, supporting more restrictions.

Stacey Abrams, a Democratic former State House leader, became Georgia’s first black nominee for governor, a prize that has eluded earlier generations of African-American candidates in the state. Her candidacy will test just how much the state’s traditionally conservative politics are shifting. Read more here.

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic lieutenant governor, and John Cox, a Republican businessman, emerged from a crowded field in the governor’s race in California to advance to the general election, as did Ms. Feinstein, a Democrat, in the Senate race. In key House districts they hope to capture in November, Democrats avoided being shut out of the general election under the state’s “top two" primary system. Read more about the primary night in California.

Senator Thad Cochran’s decision to retire set off a game of musical chairs. Instead of Senator Roger Wicker having to defending his seat from a major rival in a Republican primary in June, the state’s big battle is expected in November, when there will be a special election to finish Mr. Cochran’s term. Chris McDaniel, a state senator who almost unseated Mr. Cochran in 2014 and had previously decided to challenge Mr. Wicker, will runin a growing field for Mr. Cochran’s seat instead. Mr. Wicker won his primary handily in this deeply red state.

A former Navy pilot, a veteran White House national security adviser and a conservative pro-gun state senator won Democratic nominations to represent battleground congressional districts in New Jersey, officially earning their spots on the front lines in a state that could determine control of the House. Read more in our analysis.

Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham, who prevailed in the Democratic primary for governor, will face Steve Pearce, a Republican congressman, in the general election. If Ms. Lujan Grisham were elected, she would be the first Latina Democratic governor in the United States, replacing Gov. Susana Martinez, a term-limited Republican who is also Latina. Read more here.

The Senate race is expected to be one of the most competitive in November, but the primaries were quiet. Representative Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, and Senator Dean Heller, a Republican, both easily won their respective nominations.

In a major upset, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old former Bernie Sanders campaign organizer, defeated longtime congressman and Democratic leader Joseph Crowley in the primary for a House district in the Bronx and Queens.

Four candidates from each party ran for Colorado’s open governorship, in a race that will test whether social and economic changes are turning Colorado more reliably blue. The state’s 1.2 million independent voters were able to participate in party primaries for the first time.

Representative Martha Roby won her Republican primary election that unfolded as a test of fealty to President Trump, defeating a challenger who assailed her for withdrawing her support for Mr. Trump in the last days of the 2016 campaign.

Brian Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state, captured the Republican nomination for governor, easily dispatching the preferred candidate of the state party establishment after a series of provocative ads that evoked President Trump’s incendiary politics and a well-timed endorsement from the president himself.

Senate: The Senate race is open. (Senator Bob Corker is not seeking re-election.)

Bill Lee, a wealthy businessman, won the Republican nomination for governor, beating five other candidates, including Representative Diane Black, who had aggressively tied herself to the Trump administration. Mr. Lee will face Karl Dean, a former Nashville mayor who easily won the Democratic primary, in the race to succeed Gov. Bill Haslam, a term-limited Republican.

Republicans succeeded in holding on to a traditionally safe congressional district when State Senator Troy Balderson eked out a narrow victory over a Democratic challenger, Danny O’Connor in a special election whose result was too close to call for nearly three weeks. Mr. Balderson will hold the seat for just over two months before he faces Mr. O’Connor again in the general election in November.

Gretchen Whitmer, a former leader in the Michigan State Senate, captured the Democratic nomination for governor and will face off against the state’s Republican attorney general, Bill Schuette, in a race that looms as a pivotal test of whether Democrats can reclaim power in a state President Trump won two years ago.

After a succession of political setbacks in onetime strongholds and a landmark defeat in the Supreme Court, organized labor notched a hard-won victory as Missouri voters overrode a legislative move to curb union power.

Senate: The Senate race is open. (Senator Jeff Flake is not seeking re-election.)

House:

2 out of 9 races are competitive in the general election.

Republican primary voters chose the establishment favorite, Representative Martha McSally, to replace Mr. Trump’s most outspoken G.O.P. critic in the Senate, Jeff Flake, in a contest that evolved into a test of which candidate could embrace Mr. Trump most snugly.

Florida Democrats nominated Andrew Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, and Republicans tapped Representative Ron DeSantis for governor, setting the stage for a ferocious general election in the country’s largest swing state between one of President Trump’s most unabashed allies and an outspoken progressive who would be Florida’s first black governor.

In the Senate midterm elections, Democrats hope to win at least two new seats to regain control of the chamber, but their margin for error is slim. A majority of the seats up for election in 2018 are currently held by Democrats. Get a full preview here.

26 Democratic incumbents*

STATE

INCUMBENT

RATING

Fla.

Bill NelsonNelson, FL

Tossup

Ind.

Joe DonnellyDonnelly, IN

Tossup

Mo.

Claire McCaskillMcCaskill, MO

Tossup

Mont.

Jon TesterTester, MT

Tossup

N.J.

Robert MenendezMenendez, NJ

Tossup

Minn.

Tina SmithSmith, MN

Lean D

N.D.

Heidi HeitkampHeitkamp, ND

Lean R

W.Va.

Joe Manchin IIIManchin III, WV

Lean D

Mich.

Debbie StabenowStabenow, MI

Likely D

Ohio

Sherrod BrownBrown, OH

Likely D

Pa.

Bob CaseyCasey, PA

Likely D

Wis.

Tammy BaldwinBaldwin, WI

Likely D

Calif.

Dianne FeinsteinFeinstein, CA

Solid D

Conn.

Christopher S. MurphyMurphy, CT

Solid D

Del.

Thomas R. CarperCarper, DE

Solid D

Hawaii

Mazie K. HironoHirono, HI

Solid D

Mass.

Elizabeth WarrenWarren, MA

Solid D

Md.

Benjamin L. CardinCardin, MD

Solid D

Maine

Angus KingKing, ME

Solid D

Minn.

Amy KlobucharKlobuchar, MN

Solid D

N.M.

Martin HeinrichHeinrich, NM

Solid D

N.Y.

Kirsten GillibrandGillibrand, NY

Solid D

R.I.

Sheldon WhitehouseWhitehouse, RI

Solid D

Va.

Tim KaineKaine, VA

Solid D

Vt.

Bernie SandersSanders, VT

Solid D

Wash.

Maria CantwellCantwell, WA

Solid D

9 Republican incumbents

STATE

INCUMBENT

RATING

Ariz.

Open (Jeff Flake)Open, AZ

Tossup

Nev.

Dean HellerHeller, NV

Tossup

Tenn.

Open (Bob Corker)Open, TN

Tossup

Tex.

Ted CruzCruz, TX

Tossup

Miss.

Cindy Hyde-SmithHyde-Smith, MS

Lean R

Miss.

Roger WickerWicker, MS

Solid R

Neb.

Deb FischerFischer, NE

Solid R

Utah

Open (Orrin G. Hatch)Open, UT

Solid R

Wyo.

John BarrassoBarrasso, WY

Solid R

In the House midterm elections, Democrats need to flip 23 seats to capture the 218 seats necessary for control of the chamber. There are 194 likely or solidly Democratic seats and 166 likely or solidly Republican seats. The competitive races below are listed by state and district number. Get the latest updates here.

16 races lean Dem.

Arizona 1AZ-01

Arizona 2AZ-02

Colorado 6CO-06

Florida 27FL-27

Iowa 1IA-01

Illinois 6IL-06

Kansas 3KS-03

Michigan 11MI-11

Minnesota 2MN-02

Minnesota 3MN-03

New Jersey 11NJ-11

Nevada 3NV-03

Nevada 4NV-04

Pennsylvania 7PA-07

Virginia 10VA-10

Washington 8WA-08

30 races are tossups

California 10CA-10

California 25CA-25

California 39CA-39

California 45CA-45

California 48CA-48

Florida 15FL-15

Florida 26FL-26

Georgia 6GA-06

Iowa 3IA-03

Illinois 14IL-14

Kansas 2KS-02

Kentucky 6KY-06

Maine 2ME-02

Michigan 8MI-08

Minnesota 1MN-01

North Carolina 9NC-09

North Carolina 13NC-13

New Jersey 3NJ-03

New Jersey 7NJ-07

New Mexico 2NM-02

New York 19NY-19

New York 22NY-22

Ohio 12OH-12

Pennsylvania 1PA-01

Pennsylvania 10PA-10

Texas 7TX-07

Texas 32TX-32

Utah 4UT-04

Virginia 2VA-02

Virginia 7VA-07

29 races lean Rep.

Alaska at-largeAK-00

California 50CA-50

Florida 6FL-06

Florida 16FL-16

Florida 18FL-18

Florida 25FL-25

Georgia 7GA-07

Iowa 4IA-04

Illinois 12IL-12

Illinois 13IL-13

Michigan 6MI-06

Minnesota 8MN-08

Missouri 2MO-02

Montana at-largeMT-00

North Carolina 2NC-02

Nebraska 2NE-02

New York 11NY-11

New York 24NY-24

New York 27NY-27

Ohio 1OH-01

Pennsylvania 16PA-16

South Carolina 1SC-01

Texas 22TX-22

Texas 23TX-23

Virginia 5VA-05

Washington 3WA-03

Washington 5WA-05

Wisconsin 1WI-01

West Virginia 3WV-03

In addition to congressional elections, there are also 36 governor’s races on the ballot in 2018. With the next redistricting process set for after the 2020 election, winning gubernatorial and state legislative control will be crucial for both parties.

Nov. 6

Elections near you

Louisiana primaries

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